The Changing Role of Parliament in the Budget Process

1
The Changing Role of Parliamentin the Budget
Process

• The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT)in
  collaboration with Sigma
• and
• MATRA FLEX
• Afyonkarahisar, Turkey8-9 October 2008

2
The Parliament and the Budget

• Enhancing its Capacity for Oversight
• Prof. Daniel Tarschys

3
The Power over the Purse

• Early rulers convened grand councils when they
  needed new aids and contributions
• Meanwhile, they relied on their small councils
• Eventually, these two fluid bodies were
  institutionalised into parliaments and cabinets

4
The Power Balance under Parliamentarism

• Parliaments are formally the ultimate
  decision-makers on money matters
• But under parliamentarism, most real decisions
  are nevertheless made by governments

5
The Stages of Budgeting

• requests,
• central priority-setting,
• legislation,
• execution,
• auditing
• scrutiny.

6
Where Does Parliament Come In?

• requests,
• central priority-setting,
• legislation,
• execution,
• auditing
• scrutiny.

7
Involvement in the legislative phase

• US Congress vs UK Parliament
• Most countries very few amendments
• Three Models of Budgetary Examination
• single budget committee
• specialised committees
• mixed solution

8
Models for Auditing

• Anglo-Saxon Model Comptroller General
• Mediterranean Model Court of Auditors
• N. E. European Model Auditing Agency

9
Parliament the Audit

• Involvement in appointment?
• Report to parliament? If so, to whom? Public
  accounts committee, or specialised committees?
• Extensive treatment in parliament?

10
Holding the Executive Accountable

• Why parliamentary oversight matters
• morale and motivation in the executive branch
• confidence and legitimacy
• policy learning and policy innovation
• social consensus

11
Impotent parliaments? No!

• Resource matters often decided outside the
  budgetary process.
• The budget is mainly a summary of previous
  decisions.
• Parliamentary discussions affect the parameters
  for governmental action
• The power of questions

12
Questions on public expenditures

• Questions on disbursements (regularity, legality,
  eligibility)
• Questions on output (effectiveness, efficiency,
  economy)
• Questions about outcomes and impact

13
Sources of information

• Disbursements (regularity, legality,
  eligibility) AUDITS
• Output (effectiveness, efficiency, economy)
  EVALUATION
• Questions about outcomes and impact
• RESEARCH

14
Designing procedures for parliamentary scrutiny

• Institutional issues which committees are
  involved?
• Informational issues on which basis can
  parliaments raise questions about budgetary
  performance? Spoon-fed by government, or
  independent sources?
• Procedural issues how should the proceedings be
  organised to make an impact?

15
Institutional issues

• Annual discharge procedures?
• Public accounts committees, or specialised
  committees?
• Special rapporteurs?

16
Performance budgeting do parliaments care?

• There is very little direct evidence that
  performance information in budgets and annual
  reports is directly used by members of parliament
  in their oversight
• Miekatrien Sterck Geert
  Bouckaert 2006

17
Analytical resources

• Scrutiny of government reports
• Staff assistance (in parties, in committees, or
  in general parliamentary research services)
• External resources (modalities for use, hearings,
  reports).

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Formating parliamentary discussions

• From agora to chamber to studio
• The new parliamentary balcony is in the
  living-room
• In an age of massive entertainment, will the
  audience stay tuned?

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Setting the stage for parliamentary oversight

• Architecture
• Scenography
• Dramaturgy

20
Parliamentary cooperation

• Inter-parliamentary Union
• Parliamentary Assemblies
• COSAC
• Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments
  (ASGP)
• International Political Science Association
  research group on legislative studies